COURSE NOTES MEE es PCN Training and Certification Division Pony rey one ae v Course UT-010.0 ULTRASONIC TESTING 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 70 8.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 16.0 17.0 INTRODUCTION 4 PRINCIPLES OF ULTRASONIC TESTING 12 GENERATING ULTRASOUND 36 COMPRESSION PROBES «SB THE FLAW DETECTOR 70 THE SOUND BEAM 88 TOTAL ATTENUATION LOSS 96 DEFECT SIZING AND PLATE INSPECTION WITH COMPRESSION PROBES 104 ANGLE PROBES 114 ANGLE PROBE CHECKS AND CALIBRATION 126 CONSTRUCTING AN ANGLE BEAM PLOT 136 SENSITIVITY SETTING 146 LOCATING AND SIZING FLAWS IN BUTT WELDS 166 IDENTIFYING FLAWS INWELDS 172 BUTT WELD EXAMINATION 186 MAINTENANCE CHECKS 208 COMPLEX WELDED JOINTS 2201.1. THE SI UNITS OF MEASUREMENT bs 1,0 INTRODUCTION 4.2 DEFINITION OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING a 4.3 HISTORY OF ULTRASONIC TESTING1.0 DUCTION ines In general, right hand pages are used for text and left hand pages for flow charts, diagrams and tables. Looking across the page to the right of a Particular diagram you should find the relevant text. Enough space is left on the pages to encourage you to add notes from the lectures, It is hoped that the flow charts will prove useful to follow the progress of the course lectures. Because fiow charts are used there is no index. Each flow chart splits a Subject tile into several subheadings, given with a decimal notation tox the Betagraph number. Therefore the number 2.2.31 means paragraph numb, 31, under sub-heading number 2 of subject title 2. As far as is practical the terms used in these notes are those defined in BS3683 Part 4, 1985 revision, 7 EtSI UNITS OF MEASUREMENT Base quantities Length Mass Time Electric current ‘Thermodynamic temperature Luminous intensity Amount of substance Derived units Frequency Force Pressure and stress Work and energy Pover Quantity of electricity e.n.f. and potential difference Electric capacitance Electric resistance Electric conductance Magnetic flux Magnetic flux density Inductance Luminous flux TLlumination Other accepted units Volume Mass Energy Prefixes 10! 10? io! 10° 10 metre kilogram second anpere kelvin candela mole hertz nevton pascal Joule watt couloab volt farad obm siemens weber tesla henry Lumen lux litre tonne electron volt WpEtgeorcoscys Hz © 1 sec™ 1N = 1kg.m/sec? 1Wb = 1V/sec 1T = 1Wb/a’ Li = 1V.sec/a lls = led/see Lx = La/a LL = Ida? lt = 10*kg approx.1.60219 x 107197Ww 1.2. The Units of Measurement Before we start you may care to study the units of measurement on the facing page. The United Kingdom adheres to a treaty signed at the General Conference on Weights and Measures, which has established a Systemes Internationales of units. Eventually these units will replace alll existing Imperial and cgs units. Certainly not all of these units are of relevance to this course, but the table will be useful reference, Scientific notation is used, which is a useful shorthand for writing numbers with a great many zeros. For example: 7.0 x 10° = 7000 7.0 x 10° = 0.007 ms? = m x s* If in doubt write the numbers out in full. Definition of Non-Destructive Testing Non-destructive testing is the ability to examine a material usually for discontinuities, without degrading it. The five principal methods, excluding visual inspection, are: Penetrant testing Magnetic Particle Inspection Eddy current testing Radiography Ultrasonic testing In all the NDT methods interpretation of results is critical. Much depends on the skill and experience of the technician, although properly formulated test techniques and procedures will improve accuracy and consistency. 0 o oO oO13 History of Ultrasonic Testing (UT) In Medieval times craftsmen casting bells for churches were aware that a properly cast bell "rang true" when struck and that a bell with flaws would give out “a false note". This principle was used by wheel-tappers inspecting rolling stock on the railways. They struck wheels with a hammer and listened to the note given out. A loose tyre sounded wrong. The origin of modem ultrasonic testing is the discovery of the Curie brothers in 1880 that quartz crystals cut in a certain way produce an electric potential when subjected to pressure - the piezo-electric effect, from the Greek piedzein, to press or strike, 'n 1881, Lippman theorized that the effect might work in reverse, and that quartz crystals might change shape if an electric current was applied to them. He found this was so and experimented further. Crystals of quartz vibrate when alternating currents are applied to them. Crystal microphones in a modem stereo rely on this principle. When the “Titanic* sank in 1912, the Admiralty tried to find a way of locating icebergs by sending out sound waves and listening for an echo. They experimented further with sound to detect submarines during the First World War. Between the wars, marine echo sounding was developed and in the Second world War ASDIC (Anti Submarine Detection Investigation Committee) was extensively used in the Battle of the Atlantic against the U boats. In 1929 a Russian physicist Sokolov experimented with techniques of Passing vibrations through metals to find flaws; this work was taken up by the Germans. In the 1930's the cathode ray tube was developed and miniaturised in the Second World War to fit small airborne radar sets into aircraft. It made the ultrasonic testing set as we know it possible, The first flaw detector was made by D O Sproule in 1942 while he was working for the Scottish firm Kelvin & Hughes. Similar work was done by Firestone in the USA and by German physicists. Sproule went on to develop the shear wave probe. At first, ultrasonic testing was restricted to testing aircraft, but in the 1950's UT was extensively used in the building of power stations in Britain for examining thick steel components safely and cheaply. 24 Vn yr TO TNH MN NAUT was found to have several advantages over radiography in heavy industrial applications: a Itdid not have the health hazard associated with radiography, and a UT technician could work next to welders and other employees “ without endangering them or holding up work. 7 b It was efficient in detecting toe cracks in boilers — a major cause of - explosions and lack of fusion in boiler tubes, c UT found planar defects like laminations which were sometimes missed by radiography. d AUT check on a thick component took no more time than a similar check on a thin component as opposed to long exposure times in = radiography. With the construction of nuclear power stations, ultrasonic testing was developed further and was applied to constructions and maintenance work in the oil industry as well as in the inspection of the huge commercial air fleets built up since the end of the Second World War. Over the years, UT sets have been miniaturised with the availability of transistors and display features improved. The process has also been automated and computerised with varying degrees of success. Onn © tn is An Me ce me me rn oH 9 a a me n o2.0 PRINCIPLES OF ULTRASONIC TESTING 21 22 23 2.4 25 26 27 SOUND MODES OF SOUND. ENERGY FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE, ULTRASOUND USED FOR TESTING DIFFRACTION24 Sound Sound is made when something vibrates. You can twang a ruler on a table or flick a stretched elastic band to verify this. The stretched surface of the rubber band or the ruler vibrates and sets up a series of vibrations, sound waves, in the air. As the surface of the band or ruler Pushes into the air, the air molecules are forced together and a region of high pressure forms: compression. As the surface moves back, the air molecules move apart, forming a low pressure area, or rarefaction. As the surface vibrates, alternate compressions are rarefactions are set up in the air and travel out from the surface to form a sound wave. The air molecules don't move with the wave — they vibrate to and fro in time with the vibrating surface. ‘The sound wave so produced travels through the air at a speed of 332 metres per second, at 0'C. We hear the sound when it hits a membrane in our ear and cause it to vibrate. Sound will travel through any medium that has molecules to move, but it travels faster in more elastic materials because the vibrations are passed on more quickly. Sound travels faster in water or metal than it does in air as liquids and solids are more elastic than air.2.24 2.2.2 2.2 MODES OF SOUND ENERGY COMPRESSIONAL OR LONGITUDINAL WAVE SHEAR OR TRANSVERSE WAVE 2.2.3 SURFACE OR RAYLEIGH WAVE 2.2.4 LAMB WAVES22 Modes of Sound Energy Sound energy can be generated and transmitted in a number of forms or G + modes. Not all of these sound waves are useful to ultrasonic testers. t i CECH 1 1€ €MATERIAL Vv comp V SHEAR $ ws > Air 332 NA ~ Water 1480 NA a Steel 5920. 3250 fs Aluminium 6320 3130 . Perspex 2730 1430 Copper 4700 2260 Brass 4430 2120 3 Table 2.2a Typical sound velocities : Audible e range Ultrasonic testing range 16Hz 15 MHz : 256 Hz 70 kHz 1-5 MHz Middle ‘C’ Bat's range Usual steel testing range Table 2.2.b The sound spectrum224 2.2.2 Compressional wave We cannot hear all sound. What we can hear is sound in a COMPRESSIONAL mode, where molecules vibrate backwards and forwards in the same direction as the eneray of propagation ~ rather like billiard balls in a line. A COMPRESSIONAL wave of sound is also called a LONGITUDINAL wave: waves of this type consist of alternate compressional and dilation in the direction of propagation. As each particle moves it pushes or pulls the adjacent particle through elastic interconnection. Gases, liquids and solids have elasticity, so compressional waves can travel in all of them. Sound travels through air in the COMPRESSIONAL mode at 332 metres per second, It travels through water at 1480 metres per second, through perspex at 2730 metres per second, through steel at 5920 metres per second and through aluminium at 6320 metres per second. Note that sound can only travel through air and water in the COMPRESSIONAL mode. Sound can travel through perspex, steel and aluminium in modes other than the compressional modes. Shear Wave Sound can travel in solids in a SHEAR mode as well as in a compressional mode. In the SHEAR mode, molecules vibrate up and down, across the direction of propagation, not to and fro, and for this reason the SHEAR mode is also called the TRANSVERSE mode, as particle vibration is transverse to the direction of sound energy. In the SHEAR or TRANSVERSE mode, molecules of a solid move rather like beach balls floating on the surface of the sea - they move up and down as a wave passes. This type of sound travel can only happen when the molecules through which it propagates are joined together ~ in a solid. A solid has rigidity as well as elasticity. Air and water, like other gases and liquids, do not have rigidity. SHEAR or TRANSVERSE waves cannot travel in gases of liquids for this reason. ‘The speed of sound in the SHEAR or TRANSVERSE mode is less than it is in the compression or longitudinal mode. The SHEAR speed of sound in steel is 3250 metres per second and in aluminium 3130 metres per ‘second. Obviously there is no SHEAR or TRANSVERSE speed for air or water. 7 RRR OOF CR iCompressional NA i n Particle vibration Direction of propagatio a. —> sore cece Shear yyy Direction of propagation Particle vibration Surface DODO DOT OOOO = 300 /see Direction of propagation Vieaton oe Fig.2.2.1/3 Modes of propagation 1822.3 2.2.4 Rayleigh or Surface Waves A third type of sound wave can travel along the surface of a solid: this is a RAYLEIGH or SURFACE wave. In the RAYLEIGH or SURFACE mode molecules vibrate in an elliptical motion, though only to a depth of one wavelength in the carrier material. SURFACE waves are about 8% slower than shear waves. In steel, SURFACE waves travel at about 3000 metres per second. ‘ Lamb Waves There are other modes of sound travel, in particular LAMB or PLATE waves. LAMB or PLATE waves propagate in thin plate materials when the plate thickness is about the same as the wavelength.’ A LAMB or PLATE waves travel at velocities which vary with the plate thickness and the wavelenath. Particle motion is elliptical, as with surface waves.) 19 € Crannnan €:¢ rm p meen gn23 Frequency As sound is a series of vibrations, one way of measuring it is to count the number of vibrations per second ~ the frequency. Frequency is measured in Hertz. One vibration in one second is one Hertz. Two vibrations in one second is two Hertz, Ten vibrations in one second is 10 Hertz and 1000 vibrations in one second is 1000 Hertz or one Kilohertz (kHz). One milion vibrations in a second is one Megahertz (MHz). The higher the frequency the higher the note sounds - the higher the pitch. If you twang the ruler or the rubber band hard, the noise is louder, it has greater amplitude, but the note remains the same. If, however, you shorten the ruler or tighten the rubber band, they vibrate more quickly and the note given out is higher. The frequency is greater. To raise the pitch of their instrument, guitar players move their fingers down the frets, thus shortening the string and making It vibrate more quickly. We can only hear sounds between certain frequencies - more than 20 Hertz and less than 20,000 Hertz. If you Were able to move your arm up and down 20 times a second, it would sound like a very low hum. You cannot, so you cannot hear the vibrations in the air caused by your moving arm. A dog whistle vibrating at 25,000 Hertz cannot be heard by humans, but it can be heard by the sensitive ears of a dog, It rarely occurs to us that there is a whole world of sound that we cannot hear. Some other animals can hear sounds at higher frequencies — bats can hear sound at 100,000 Hertz - and some. animals, like snakes, have worse hearing than we have. Sounds with frequencies above the upper range of human hearing is called ultrasound. Sound below about 16 Hertz is called infrasound. Therefore the definition of ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than 20 kilohertz. However, there is an advantage for the lower frequencies. The lower the frequency, the more penetrating a sound wave is - that is why foghorns give out very low notes and why the low throbbing notes from your neighbour's stereo set come through the wall rather than the high notes. 21 ne anesf= no of wavelengths _——— ee time f= frequency = Hz time A= lambda= wavelength Fig.2.4 Relationship of wavelength and frequency24 Wavelength ‘A wave in the sea is a vibration of energy. As the wave passes a fixed point it produces a constant rise and fall of energy. A complete vibration is a change In energy from maximum to minimum and back to maximum, The distance over which one complete vibration of energy occurs is called a wavelength. A wavelength Is the distance between the highest points of energy. It varies with the speed of sound and with the frequency. Wavelength is represented by the Greek letter L — lambda & We can work out wavelength if we know the speed and frequency of a ‘sound Wave. Wavelength is the velocity in metres per second divided by the frequency WAVELENGTH = — VELOCITY FREQUENCY or a = yv F If We want to know the wavelength of a 200 Hertz frequency sound wave travelling through air we can apply this formula, as we know that the speed of sound in air is 332 metres per second: ah = 332 200 = 1.66 metres If we want to know the wavelength of a 2 Megahertz compression wave travelling through steel, we can again use the formula, as we know the compressional speed of sound in steel, 5,920 metres per second: 5,920 2,000,000 0.00296 metres or 2.96 millimetres If we want to know the wavelength of a shear wave of 2 Megahertz in steel we can use the formula again, but this time we use the shear speed of sound in steel which is 3,250 metres per second. = 3.250 2,000,000 = 0.001625 metres or 1.625 millimetres {can be seen that wavelength of the shear wave is less than that of the compression wave. On oe n 0So the wavelength of ultrasonic waves is important because the shorter the wavelength, the smaller the flaws that can be discovered. Defects of a diameter of less than half a wavelength may not show on the CRT. On the other hand, the shorter the wavelength the less the ultrasound will penetrate the test material. Beam shape is also affected by wavelength. These factors will be discussed later.ALNAGIONI SSAVM IWNOISSSYdWOS HO4 SLNAIDIS4309 NOILOS1438 S'% STAVL oor a uo 68 ot 8 ve 110 oot a eS Ro RR- FS e 8 euaukishlog VIGSW OML N33M138 ANVONNOS SHL OL ATIVWHON oot a é. « 2 sseD 8 eueneg oot 88 BS (ees oot eZ se zo ot a z 0 1evIN oot sk ob ob 6L zz eb on Anor0W oot z 6 a a se ° winsoubey, oot 6L 08 29 oot rT) se 6b £0 vo eb 008 98 2 eh oO ge zo seg oot ‘wnurwiny a exw By OL xad BONVGadWI OLLSIHSLOVEWHO av 221M Te) ousinishiod sei ewoxes jeais PIN ‘Auno10WN wnisoubeW pear seddeg ss0ig wntununny widaw 2625 Acoustic Impedance When a sound pulse arrives at an interface between the different materials at right angles. some sound is reflected back into the material from whence it came. The rest of the sound, however, is transmitted into the second material. This is due to the difference in acoustic impedance of the two materials and is known as acoustic impedance mismatch or sometimes interface behaviour. We can calculate how much sound is transmitted and how much sound is reflected back by knowing the acoustic impedance of both materials. ‘Acoustic impedance is represented by the letter Z and is the velocity of ‘sound in the material multiplied by the material's density: Zz =p xv where p (the Greek letter rho) is density and V is sound velocity, compressional or shear as the case may be. Once you know the acoustic impedances of two materials, you can use a formula to work out how much sound will be reflected back. The formula zZ- (2 a x 100 = Percentage of sound reflected back cS where Z, is the acoustic impedance of the first material and Z, is the acoustic impedance of the second material An example. To calculate the amount of energy reflected back at a steel~ water interface, we must find out the acoustic impedances of steel and water, They are: Steel (Z,) = 46.7 x 10° Water @) = 1.48 x 10° —K9_ so, applying the formula: 2 (3 = +3) x 100 7 + 1.48, 0.98856" x 100 0.8809 x 100 27 oO 9 oO oO oO88% of the sound energy is reflected back at the interface. This of course means that 12% of the energy is transmitted at the interface. Using the same formula, the figures for other media can be worked out. Ata steel/oil interface, 91% of sound energy is reflected back; at a glycerine/steel interface 90% of energy is reflected back. These substances, water, oil and glycerine, are used as couplants in ultrasonics. Through them sound energy is transmitted from the probe into the test materials. So in fact, only about 10% of the energy generated by the probe crystal actually gets through the couplant into the test material. When examining a piece of steel with a compression probe, we pass at most about 10% of sound energy from the crystal into the steel and even if all that energy is reflected back from the backwall or a large flaw in the steel, only 10% of the returning energy will pass back through the interface into the probe, Consequently, at the most only 1% of energy generated by a probe crystal will come back into a probe, a very small amount indeed. A.rule of thumb with UT is that whatever happens to sound going in one direction, happens also in the reverse direction. fie owa9q ype asind 10 uopsayjas Yim UOIssILUSUEL “e'9'7'BI4 4a an 30Ultrasound Used for Testing The main use of ultrasonics in the human and the animal worid is for detecting objects and for measuring distance. A pulse of ultrasound - a squeak from a bat or a pulse from an ultrasonic ‘source — hits an object and is reflected back to its source like an echo. From the time it takes to travel to the object and back, the distance of the ‘object from the sound source can be calculated. That is how bats fly in the dark and how dolphins navigate through water. It is also how warships detected and attacked submarines in the Second World War. Wearing a blindfold, you can determine if you are in a very large hall or an ordinary room by clapping your hands sharply; a large hall will give back a distinet echo, but an ordinary room will not. A bat's echo location is more precise: the bat gives out and can sense short wavelengths of ultrasound and these give a sharper echo than we can detect. In ultrasonic testing a sound pulse is sent into a solid object and an echo returns from any flaws in that object or from the other side of the object. An echo is returned from a solid-air interface or any solid~non-solid interface in the object being examined. We can send ultrasonic pulses into material by making a piezo electric crystal vibrate in a probe. The pulses can travel in a.compression, shear or transverse mode. This is the basis of ultrasonic testing. But a method must be found of presenting information from the returning echoes for interpretation. It is for this purpose that the UT set, or flaw detector as it is frequently called, contains a cathode ray tube. In the majority of UT sets the information is presented on the screen in a display called the "A Scan’ In an A Scan ~ the bottom of the CRT screen is a timebase made to represent a distance - say 100mm. An echo from the backwall comes up on the screen as a signal, the amplitude of which represents the amount of sound returning to the probe. By seeing how far the signal comes along the screen we can measure the thickness of the material we are examining. if that material contains a flaw, sound energy is reflected back from the flaw and appears on the screen as a signal in front of the backwall echo: the sound reflected from the fiaw has not had so far to travel as the sound reflected from the backwall. See Fig 2.6.a Anything that send back sound energy to a probe to cause a signal on the soreen is called a "reflector" By measuring the distance from the edge of the CRT screen to the signal, we can calculate how far down in the material the reflector lies. There are other ways of presenting information on the CRT screen: the B,C,D,P and T scans, but these will be discussed later. fon aProbe AT) ee = ; Lanier My, i yy an ‘ Energy reflected Energy reflected iad back to probe away from probe Uy, Uy c Laminar defect in Grtoet 5 Energy rotected Energy rected away from probe back to probe Fig.2.6.b. Effect of flaw orientation on reflection of sound beam = 32The orientation of a flaw is very important in ultrasonic testing. !f the sound pulse hits the flaw at an angle other than 80 much of the energy will be reflected away and not return to the probe with the result that the flaw will not show up on the screen. For this reason UT operators plan in advance how to put sound pulses into test specimens at angles that will hit likely flaws broadside on, as illustrated in Fig.2.6.b. eoonadryTest material Fig.2.7 DiffractionDiffraction When a sound beam passes through an aperture or past a sharp edge the energy will bend around and behind the edge or edges. This is the phenomena known as diffraction and is responsible for some energy not being able to return to the transmission point. The phenomena has been used in a defect sizing method once known as ‘Crack Tip Diffraction’, but now more commonly referred to as Time of Flight’.3.0 GENERATING ULTRASOUND 3.1 PIEZO ELECTRIC CRYSTALS 3,2 PROBE DESIGN 3.3 PULSE LENGTH AND DAMPING 3.4 RESOLUTION 3.5 DEAD ZONE 36Uru vy vy y th e Yl ve Fig.3.0. Piezo electric effect3.0 GENERATING ULTRASOUND Sound is created when something vibrates. It is a stress wave of mechanical energy. The piezo electric effect changes mechanical energy into electrical energy. Itis reversible, so electrical energy ~ a voltage - can be changed into mechanical energy or sound, which is the reverse piezo electric effect. The first people to observe the piezo electric effect were the Curie brothers who observed it in quartz crystals. o3.1, PIEZO ELECTRIC CRYSTALS 3.1.1. QUARTZ 3.1.2. LITHIUM SULPHATE 3.1.3. BARIUM TITANATE 3.1.4. LEAD METANOBIATE 3.1.5. LEAD ZIRCONATE TITANATE 403A Piezo Electric Crystals As we have said Jaques and Pierre Curie used quartz for their first experiments. Nowadays polarized ceramics are used instead of quartz crystals, It was later discovered that by varying the thickness of crystals and by subjecting them to a voltage they could be made to vibrate at different frequencies. Frequency depends on the thickness of the piezo-electric crystal, according to a formula: t= or CRYSTAL THICKNESS = VELOCITY OF SOUND IN CRYSTAL of 2 X FREQUENCY ai e BO 0 79 8.6.8 ee aime nNone iN n772048 Anny Fig.3.1.1. X' cut quartz crystal 42: Bit. 91.2. Quartz Y Quartz or silicon oxide (Si 0,) is found in granite as a natural crystal. Compressional or shear waves can be produced according to the way quartz crystals are cut. An "X" cut crystal is cut in a direction that directly crosses the axis joining two angles of the crystal. A “Y* cut crystal is cut in a direction parallel to the axis joining two angles of the crystal. An *X* cut crystal produces a compressional wave A “Y* cut crystal produces a shear wave Quartz is not much used now. Several types of crystal are produced, each with advantages and disadvantages, listed below. Quartz has some qualities as a producer of ultrasound. It is: a. resistant to wear insoluble in water b. +c. resistant to ageing d easy to cut to give the required frequencies but quartz also has disadvantages: a. Itneeds a lot of electrical energy to produce a small amount of ultrasound, which means it is inefficient b. Quartz crystals are susceptible to mode change c. Ahigh voltage is needed to give low frequency sound For these reasons quartz has been largely superseded by other piezo electric materials. Lithium sulphate (Li SO,) crystals grow as a solution of lithium sulphate is evaporated. Their advantages are: Lithium sulphate is the most efficient receiver of ultrasound It has very low electrical impedance Lithium sulphate operates well at low voltages It does not age It has very good resolution Lithium sulphate crystals are easily damped to give short pulse lengths reaoge The disadvantages are: a. Lithium sulphate crystals dissolve in water b. They break easily ©. — They decompose at temperatures above 130°C all of which makes them unsuitable for industrial use, though lithium sulphate crystals are used for medical ultrasonics for the examnination of pregnant women and patients suffering from tumours. After research, polarized crystals were found to be most suitable for industrial use. Polarised crystals are made by heating up powders to a high temperatures, pressing them into shape and allowing them to-coo! in very strong electrical fields. This affecis the atomic structure of the crystal lattice, 43é nr Ry92. PROBE DESIGN 3.2.1. 3.2.2. 3.2.3. COMPRESSIONAL SINGLE CRYSTAL PROBES ANGLE PROBES TWIN CRYSTAL PROBES. 4632 Probe Design In the USA a probe is usually called search unit and was at one time called a transducer. However, we generally now understand a transducer to be the crystal. There are a number of probe designs and configurations. We shall deal with those most commonly used in weld, aerospace and general ultrasonic testing. a7s OO aU GO 0,0, 0-0 uo oog vo o Electrical connections Housing ———}« Damping Membrane Transducer U7) Test material Fig.3.2.1. Compressional wave probe Damping Transducer Perspex wedge Test material © —Compressional wave 1 — Incident angie R— Refracted angle S— Shear wave Fig.3.2.2. Angle probe 483.2.1. 3.2.2. Compressional Wave Probes Compressional probes generate compressional or longitudinal waves in test materials and are sometimes calied normal o degree probes. A typical compressional probe comprises a crystal in a metal or plastic housing, with wires from 2 connection bonded to it, which carry the electrical pulse from the flaw detector and cause the crystal to vibrate. Behind the crystal is mounted damping material to restrict the vibration, see paragraph 3.4, and in front is a plastic disc to prevent crystal wear. See Fig. 3.2.1. Angle Probes ‘Angle probes utilise compressional probes mounted on a wedge of perspex. The wedge of such a probe is cut to a particular angle to enable the beam to refract into the test material at a chosen angle. Angle probes usually transmit a shear or sometimes a surface wave into test materials and are used largely in weld testing, casting and forging inspection and in aerospace applications. ‘The use of angle probes will be covered in more detail in Section 9.Receiver Transmitter 3 crystal crystal - Insulator Focusing plastic lens Fig.3.2.3. Twin crystal compressional probe3.2.3. Twin Crystal Probes A single crystal probe transmits and receives ultrasound with one crystal: the crystal transmits the pulse and vibrates when the pulse returns from a backwall echo or a flow. However, when a single crystal probe is used, a signal appears on the screen at the beginning of the time base. It is caused by vibrations immediately adjacent to the crystal and is called by several names: initial pulse, transmission signal, crystal strike or main bang. The signal on the screen caused by the initial pulse may mask signals from flaws close to the top of the parent material. For this reason the area ‘on the CRT screen in which flaws may be masked is called the DEAD ZONE. ‘A twin or double crystal probe is designed to minimise the problem of dead zone. A twin crystal probe has two crystals mounted on perspex shoes angled inwards slightly to focus at a set distance in the test material, Were the crystals not angled, the pulse would be reflected straight back into the transmitting crystal. ‘The perspex shoes hold the crystals away from the test surface and so that the initial pulse does not appear on the CRT screen. The dead zone is greatly reduced to the region adjoining the test surface, where the transmission and reception beams do not overlap. There are other advantages: a. The double crystal probe can be focused from 3 - 25mm b. — Itecan measure thin plate c. _ Itcan detect near-surface flaws d. It has good near-surface resolution But a double-crystal probe has disadvantages: a. — Good contact is difficult with curved surfaces b. itis difficult to size small defects accurately as the width of a double-crystal probe is usually greater than that of a single-crystal probe c. The amplitude of a signal decreases the further a reflector is situated from the focal distance ~ a response curve can be made out. ‘Therefore single and twin crystal probes are complementary.ye. Ch. Up, Ob Op Uh OE Amplitude reduced to 1/10 of maximum Pulse Fig.3.3.a. Pulse length 52Pulse Length and Damping A pulse of ultrasound from a piezo electric crystal has a length or width of several vibrations or wavelengths. When you strike a bell it continues to ring for several seconds as the metal continues to vibrate. The vibrations get steadily weaker and the sound dies away. if you put your hand on the bell you stop the vibrations and the sound dies away more quickly - you dampen the sound. A piezo electric crystal continues to vibrate after it is hit by an electrical charge. This affects sensitivity, as the ionger the pulse length, the worse the resolution. In most probes a slug of tungsten loaded araldite is placed behind the crystal to cut down the ringing time and to shorten the pulse length. Pulse length, pulse duration and pulse width are the same thing, but we must not confuse either with wavelength, Pulse length (or width) is also sometimes called "wave train length", It is defined in a number of ways and even British Standards disagree. We choose the one in BS4331.P1.2. which defines it as the first and last instant at which the value of the pulse reaches 19% of its peak amplitude. See Fig.3.3., A long pulse may be 15 wavelengths (cycles, vibrations) while a short pulse may be as low as two cycles. The average pulse length is about five wavelengths. See Fig.3.3.b. The longer the pulse length, the more penetrating the ultrasound, as it contains more energy, but the worse the sensitivity and resolution; hence the need to compromise. 83 et 4.toe a th U O UU O- UO & uv No damping. 10% Amplitude Long pulse probe - 15 Cycles 10% Amplitude Medium pulse probe - § Cycles Heavy damping 100% 10% Amplitude i a | t Short pulse probe -1102 Oyetes Fig.3.3.b. Effect of damping on pulse length 54ab Uy >6 dB -— 2mm step, echoes not (a) ) resolved ‘Typical results of measuring probe resolution with linear display a) Resolved ) Not resolved Fig.3.4. Resolution of echoes3.4 35 Resolution Resolution is the ability of an equipmenticombination probe to distinguish between two echoes from reflectors that are close together. To have good resolution a probe must present two signals on a CRT screen from two separate reflectors: if it has poor resolution the echoes from the two reflectors appear as one signal on the screen. In the early days of ultrasonic testing we used the 100mm, 91mm and 85mm steps, at the radiused end of the block to test resolving power. However, today this is regarded as much too crude a test and BS4331 pt.3 recommends that we should be able to recognise two disorete echoes less than two wavelengths apart. By discrete echoes they mean split by more than 6dB, see Fig.3.4. or to more than half the total height of the signals. However, in section 16.0 we shall describe how to carry out a resolution check. Dead Zone Dead zone is defined by BS3683 Pt.4 1985, as the region in a material adjoining the surface of entry from which no direct echoes from discontinuities can be detected. For a single crystal probe the length of the initial pulse is the dead zone, for any signal from a reflector at a shorter distance than this will be concealed in the initial pulse. We deliberately delay off the initial pulse beyond the left of the timebase, by mounting the transducers of a twin crystal probe onto plastic wedges. This and the focusing of the crystals reduces the dead zone considerably and it is only where the transmission and receptive beams do not overlap that we cannot assess flaws.4.1 CALIBRATION > 4.2 THROUGH TRANSMISSION a 4.0 COMPRESSION 4.3 THICKNESS CHECKS ~ PROBES 4.4 LAMINATION CHECKS 4.5 PROBE SELECTION4d Calibration Calibration is setting at a timebase on a cathode ray tube screen to represent a chosen distance. We can calibrate with two blocks, an A2 (sometimes called a V1 or IW) block, which is large and heavy, and an Ad (sometimes called a V2 or “kidney"), which is small and can be carried in a pocket. We can also use a step wedge to calibrate compression probes for small timebase distances. British Standard BS 2704 gives full details of calibration blocks used in ultrasonic testing. Calibrate for 100mm - Place a V1 block on its side and put a 0 degree (Normal) compression probe on it. Adjust the RANGE and DELAY controls on the set until you have four echoes on the screen. Adjust the two controls further until the first echo is 25% screen width, the second echo 50% screen width, the third echo at 75%, the fourth echo at full screen width. The first echo now represents 25mm, the second 50mm, the third 75mm and the full screen width 100mm. Check your calibration by putting the V1 block on its edge and taking a reading from one edge to the other; if you have calibrated correctly you will get a signal at full screen width, 100m. Put the probe on the plastic insert in the V1 block and you will get an echo signal midway across the screen at 50mm ~ sound travels mar2 slowly in perspex than it does in steel, so the 23mm of perspex gives 2 signal at the same distance across the timebase as 50mm of si Calibrate for som Place a 0 degree probe on the side of the V1 block as before and obtain two echoes. ei Adjust the RANGE and DELAY controls until the first echo is at 50% screen width and the second signal is at full screen width. Place the probe on the perspex insert in the V1 block and you should get a signal at full screen widthDimehsions in millimetres 100, | Slot at zero point 150] [00 ~ Fig.4.1., The A.2., LW. of V.1. block ~~ t | See note 1 | | Y T Note 1. 125mm or 20mm, 2. 1.5 0r 5mm Fig.4.1.b. The A4. or V.2. block 60Calibrate for 200millimetres Place the probe on the side of a V1 block and adjust the RANGE and DELAY controls until you have eight echoes on the screen. Adjust both controls until the fourth echo is midway across the screen and the last echo is at full screen width. Put the probe on the edge of the V1 block and you should see on echo midway across the screen and another signal at full screen width. Note spurious indications behind the backwall echo resulting from mode change. Calibrate for 10 millimetres Place a twin crystal 0 degree probe on the reverse side of a step wedge and obtain two echoes from the Smm step, Adjust the RANGE and DELAY controls until one signal is midway across the screen at 50% screen width and the other is at full screen width. Check your setting by checking the signals on the screen against other thicknesses on the step wedge.emg jo vonanpay uorsstwsuen yBnowys “2°p'6!4 +V 6242 Through Transmission Through transmission was used in the early days of ultrasonic testing and is till used in plate and bar production. A probe one side of a component transmits an ultrasonic pulse to a receptor probe on the other side. The absence of a pulse coming to the receiver indicates a defect. The advantages of through transmission are: Less attenuation of sound energy No probe ringing No dead zone on the screen The orientation of a defect does not matter as it does on the pulse echo display. acon The disadvantages are: The defect cannot be located The defect cannot be identified The component surfaces must be parallel Vertical defects do not show The process must be automated There must be access to both sides of the component. >ea0cD43 Thickness Checks Thickness checks are part of corrosion and erosion monitoring and control programmes in refineries, power stations, chemical pients, shipyards, pipelines and other projects. Thickness checks are usually made at fixed points on bends in pipes, at oil\water interfaces, near welds or at other spots where corrosion or erosion is likely. Small ultrasonic sets designed specifically for thickness checks are available. These sets give digital read outs and contain their own calibration blocks. To calibrate them, place the probe on the calibration block with some couplant, note the thickness of the calibration block and turn the milled wheel on the side of the meter until the numbers read out the thickness of the block, usually ten millimetres. To conduct a thickness check, find out the approximate or specified thickness of the component being examined arid then calibrate a UT set to the appropriate range. If the specified thickness is four millimetres, use a step wedge to calibrate your set to a 10 millimetre timebase; if the specified thickness is 25mm, calibrate your set for 50mm. With the correct setting, readings accurate to one tenth of a millimetre are possible on most sets. If you are looking for pitting or corrosion on the inside of a pipe or vessel, it is better to use a UT set than digital thickness meter. The extent of pitting is more apparent on a screen.44 Lamination Checks British Standard BS5996 gives full details on how to conduct lamination checks and what standards to apply. Plate and pipe mills make frequent use of ultrasonic lamination checks, and quality control usually demands a lamination check on plate coming into a fabrication shop. It is normal to check parent metal for laminations in the area where a weld will be made before welding to at least 100mm from the edge preparation, and it is essential to check for lamination when making a fillet, ‘T' or node weld on areas likely to be affected by welding. Small laminations can cause lamellar tearing, a type of crack and a potentially dangerous defect. To make a lamination check on 10+ millimetre plate Calibrate the screen to 50 or 100 millimetres and/or obtain two backwall echoes from a clean area of the plate. q Adjust the AMPLITUDE or dB control until the signal from the first backwall echo (1st BWE) is at full screen height (FSH). Adjust the 2nd BWE to FSH on weld parent metal. Apply couplant, usually water or paste, and examine the plate on a grid ‘system as instructed or as detailed in BS5996. (When checking a weld preparation examine to 100mm from the edge). Size defects by the 6dB drop method and report their location, depth and area. (The 6dB drop method is described in BS5996 and later in these notes). ‘To Make a lamination check on thin plate (10mm and less) Place an 'O' degree compression probe on the test piece and adjust RANGE control until you obtain multiple backwall echoes on the screen, Move the probe over the plat: a lamination or inclusion is likely. here the echo pattern changes drastically45 Probe Selection When choosing a probe you must take these factors into consideration: Joint thickness and diameter Joint geometry Surface condition Metallurgical structure of the material under test e.g. grain size Type, position and orientation of any likely defects. eaoce Probe frequency affects performance as follows: Higher frequencies give better resolution Higher frequencies give better sensitivity Lower frequencies have better penetration and less attenuation Lower frequencies are more tolerant of rough surfaces Lower frequericy probes have a wider beam spread and hence a reflected beam from a discontinuity is wider and hence more detectable with unfavourably orientated defects f Higher frequency probes have a smaller beam spread and are thus more accurate in defect sizing. ea0cD Transducer size affects performance as follows: 2 Large crystals give out greater energy and so have a longer range b Small transducers have a smaller near zone c Large diameter transducers give poor contact on curved surfaces Single crystal probes are suitable for use on materials over 15mm to 30mm thick, according to dead zone length and should be used in preference to double crystal probes on anything over 30mm thick. Double crystal probes are used for scanning thin materials and when looking for defects close to the test surface. They can be shaped to fit curved surfaces if necessary.5.0 THE FLAW DETECTOR 51 52 oo 54 55 5.6 5.7 58 59 PRINCIPLES CATHODE RAY TUBE PULSE GENERATION RANGE CONTROL DELAY CONTROL CALIBRATED GAIN/ ATTENUATOR CONTROL REJECT/SUPPRESSION THE DECIBEL PRESENTATION 70& u ou a > Receiver Amplitier - Electron“gun Transmission pulse = Deftecting system Back wall eche g Pulse Defect echo é Transmitter Luminescent screen Et Pulse Generator (Timer) - Time iM Base Fig.5.1 Diagramatic illustration of flaw detector 72BA, THE ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTOR Principles The ultrasonic flaw detector, the UT set, sends a voltage down a co-axial cable, sometimes called "the lead" to a probe. The piezo electric crystal in the probe is hit by the voltage and vibrates. The vibration creates an ultrasonic pulse which enters the test material. The pulse travels through the material unti it strikes a reflector and is reflected back to the probe. It re-enters the probe, hits the crystal and vibrates it, causing it to generate a voltage. The voltage causes a current which travels back to the flaw detector along the cable. The set displays the time the pulse has taken through the test material and back and the strength of the pulse as a signal on the CRT screen. This is basically how a UT set works. It transmits energy into material via a probe and measures the time in microseconds that the sound pulse takes to return to the probe. The controls on the UT set are almost entirely concerned with presenting a display on the CRT screen for the operator to interpret.gun X plates y plate Fluorescent screen Fig.5.2. Cathode ray tube 7452 Cathode Ray Tube The cathode ray tube is a device for measuring very small periods of time. The CRT displays electrical pulses on a screen in a linear time/distance relationship. That is, the longer the distance on the screen timebase, the longer the time that has been measured. This is how the CRT works: A filament is heated in a vacuum tube. The heat causes the particles of the filament to vibrate and electrons start boiling out of the surface a process known as thermionic emission. A postive potential electric charge is in position further down the vacuum tube and the negatively charged electrons from the filament are attracted towards it. ‘The electrons pass’through a negatively charged focusing ring which pushes them towards the centre of the tube, forcing them into a fine stream. This stream of electrons hits a phosphor covered screen at the end of the tube. The electron bombardment forces the phosphor to give out light and a green dot appears on the.screen. ‘The X and Y plates above, below and beside the electron stream carry potentials that move the electron stream from side to side and up and down, moving the green dot on the screen. The X plates control horizontal movement and the Y plates control vertical movement. By altering the potential of the X and Y plates, the dot can be moved on the screen. 15